WHAT WE OFFER

The ultimate goal of Thoran is to produce a premium, single malt whisky, made using Icelandic water and organically grown Icelandic barley. But we also want to make other spirits, make friends and hopefully... make a profit.

BECOME A CASK OWNER

Stop throwing away your hard earned money on things like pet food and gym memberships, and start buying stuff that'll actually make you happy. Buy a cask of whisky. Do it. Do it now.

"Icelanders love a drink, and yet Iceland has had a chequered past with alcohol. Things are changing though, and a brave group of Icelanders are about to brave their way into the world of whisky." Read the full article

Need a reason to celebrate? How about this: Same-sex marriage has been legal since 2010 in Iceland. Gays and lesbians also have the right to adopt children. That's something worth raising a glass to.

Our stills will be heated with geothermal energy. 30% of Iceland's electricity is of geothermal origin - the highest percentage worldwide. The rest of the nation's electricity is generated by hydro power, making of Iceland the world's most eco-friendly country in terms of energy.

Icelandic delicacies include shark meat, puffin, reindeer and sheep testicles. With food like that, you definitely need something strong to wash it down with.

GALLERY

In the past few years many new spirits manufacturers have risen in Iceland, and right now the future of Icelandic spirits is as exciting as it is bright. We want to create a photo journal documenting our own entry into this market, giving you the chance to follow our progress, see what we're up to and what we're gonna do next. Enjoy these 'behind the scenes' photos and be sure to check in every now and then for more.

CHOOSING THE BARLEY

THE TEAM

LAYING DOWN THE LAW

BEARD-ENVY

A SNEAK PEEK

IT IS ALL ABOUT COPPER

BRAND DEVELOPMENT

NEWS

Each day the Þoran project progresses further and the dream of Icelandic whisky becomes more tangible. We'll be posting updates on our development, both on this site and on our Twitter account.

The art and science of making whisky hasn’t changed all that much in the past 400 years or so. It’s a formula that works so there’s really no need to drastically change it. But every couple of decades a great idea is born that affects the way we make ...

A couple of months back the Thoran team undertook a mission of exploration and fact-finding to The Emerald city, Seattle. The purpose of the trip was to visit the many breweries and distilleries the city has to offer and meet the people behind the craft distilling and craft brewing revolution. ...

…and with it some exciting news from your favorite Icelandic distillery. After almost 2 years of hard work we’ve reached our first milestone in the development of our spirits. We now have a spirit, both peated and un-peated, that we are very happy with. We’ve also received great feedback from ...

We just got back from the UK where we attended the Whisky Show, hosted by the Whisky Exchange, where we had the privilege of sampling many fine whiskies from around the world and meeting the good people who make it. During that same UK tour we also attended the Annual ...

The Þoran team just got back from a marvellous weekend spent with our friends over at Box Destilleri in Sweden. Great weather, great people, great whisky. We had the privilege of getting to learn about their production methods and philosophy from the formidable Roger Melander, one of industry greats in ...

The interest in Þoran has been tremendous over the past months and we’d just like to say, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you! Since we’ve made the option of pre-ordering a cask of Þoran whisky available, we’ve received over 100 orders. These lucky people will soon be able ...

Our head of development, Jóhannes Valberg, just finished his Bsc. degree in mechanical and energy engineering, got a master certificate in thick plate crafting AND is only one year away from getting his masters degree in mechanical engineering. For those of you not in the know, Jói is the true ...

It’s been a busy couple of months. We’re just about ready to move our entire production over to Matís, the Icelandic food and biotech R&D. They’re going to help us out with some aspects of our production as well as give us access to much of their equipment. In other news; ...

Guess who just won the award for innovation in food and drink over at Landsbanki Íslands and Matís? We did, ya’ll!! The award came with a million icelandic krónur and a contract with Matís, who are going to help us develop our production methods. In other news, look out for ...

We are approaching the end of the summer here in Iceland (which wasn’t much of a summer because we only had about 5 days of actual sun in the capital). The 10 week startup incubator of which Þoran was a part has come to an end as well. It all ...

You like peat smoke in your whisky? How about volcanic smoke? Iceland has about 130 volcanic mountains. Among them 18 have erupted since the settlement of Iceland 1100 years ago.

Fun fact #2

The Icelandic language has not changed much in the last 1100 years. Even children can read ancient texts written by the viking settlers. 'Þoran' is actually an old icelandic word and means 'courage'

Fun fact #3

Icelandic water is so clean and pure that it is piped into the city and to the kitchen taps in the home without any treatment (no chlorination needed). Let's mix it with some barley and yeast and see what happens.

MEET THE TEAM

Our team is comprised of three like-minded individuals, each bringing something unique to the table. Our combined skill set includes marketing, graphic design, microbiology, brewing, economics, packaging design, engineering, team building and product development. Plus, Bergþóra makes a mean lasagna.

Individually we are one drop,but together we are an ocean

The Þoran project has become a small, global community. People from all over the world have been sending us emails, telling us how excited they are about the prospect of Icelandic whisky and asking how they can participate.

Some of them want to write articles about the project, a few are hoping to get first dibs on a cask but most people just want to wish us good luck. These people are our global ambassadors and vital members of our team.

One of 10 teams to partake in Startup Reykjavik 2013 accelerator program

Winner of the 2013 Innovation in Food & Beverage award

Semi-finalist in "Get in the ring 2013" entrepreneurial competition in the Netherlands

Featured in magazines and websites in 5 different countries

BIRGIR MÁR SIGURÐSSON

OWNER AND FOUNDER

The Þoran project has been the brainchild of Birgir Már since 2009. He's the groups dreamer, brand developer and resident whisky snob.

BERGÞÓRA ARADÓTTIR

CEO

Bergþóra is the backbone of Þoran. With a steady hand, she manages the day to day operations and makes sure we're not dragging our feet.

JÓHANNES VALBERG

HEAD OF DEVELOPMENT

Jóhannes, a.k.a. the Wizard, a.k.a. Rainman, is our very own distilling savant. His role is to develop the unique Þoran flavor profile.

Þoran now accepting pre-ordersby Richard Thomas

"Whiskey-making has spread to many new places around the world, places like Taiwan, Sweden, and Australia. Yet perhaps the most unlikely new entrant into national whiskey-making was the 2009 announcement of the Þoran Distillery project in Iceland. With a population of barely 320,000, the tiny island nation..."Read the full article

We love Þoranby David Walsh

"When Birgir Már Sigurðsson talks about his laboratory, it takes every sinew to suppress images of a cat-stroking Bond villain in his secret lair. Rather than some deadly toxin or menacing WMD, the secret work firmly under wraps at the lab on the outskirts of Reykjavik is the refining of an Icelandic single malt whisky."Read the full article

SPONSORS

A few companies have been kind enough to offer us their help and services. These companies believe in the ongoing success of Þoran and without them, we wouldn't be where we are today.

CONTACT

We really want to hear from you, so leave us a message and we promise to get back to you as soon as possible.